Entries tagged with: LeeRanaldo

The National have been talking about an all-star indie rock tribute to The Grateful Dead for longtime now, and 2015 would be a good year to finally release it given all the excitment surrounding The Dead's 50th anniversary. It's seeming like a possibility that that will in fact be the case, as the band are/were up in Woodstock at Dreamland Recordings working on it.

We already knew they were planning to include members of Vampire Weekend, Bon Iver, Kurt Vile, The Walkmen and Megafaun, and from the pictures they've been posting on Instagram, it's looking like way more really exciting people are involved too. It had already been talked about to maybe include Sonic Youth guitarist and major Dead fan Lee Ranaldo, but it's now confirmed that he recorded at Dreamland with them too. Will Oldham (aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) is there (!). Kristian Matsson (aka The Tallest Man on Earth) is there. Walter Martin from the Walkmen is pictured. Cass McCombs and Phil Lesh collaborator Joe Russo, who both just played a Dead tribute in Brooklyn were there, and Sam Amidon too. Josh Ritter's band, etc member Josh Kaufman is there along with his former Yellowbirds bandmate Sam Cohen, and Takka Takka/Gabriel and the Hounds/sometimes National, etc member Conrad Doucette is in the pictures too.

Looks like this is turning out even more exciting than it first seemed. Check out more pictures from the recording sessions below...

Kim Gordon's duo with Bill Nace, Body/Head are on board for Boston's Hassle Fest IV this November (with Jason Lescalleet, No Joy, Quilt, Downtown Boys and more), and directly before that they'll play two nights at Brooklyn's Union Pool on November 6 & 7. Both shows are with Wolf Eyes' Nate Young and his band Regression Nightmare. Night 1 will also be opened by Bill Nace's past collaborator Steven Baczkowski, and night 2 also by Vanessa Rossetto. Tickets for night 1 and night 2 go on sale (9/30) at 2 PM.

Kim also has an art show opening in NYC in 2015. All Body/Head dates are listed below.

In related news, Kim's ex-Sonic Youth bandmate Lee Ranaldo (who played Union Pool a few days ago and has an upcoming duo set with Noveller) has an art show of his own opening in NYC. The show's called Lost Highways and it opens on October 4 at One Mile Gallery (475 Abeel St) with the reception going from 6-8 PM. The show runs through October 25.

Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo has a bunch of live appearances coming up, including three very different shows in NYC and a solo/acoustic tour in Europe. The first one is this Friday (9/5) at St. Ann & The Holo Trinity Church for the fifth annual Dither Extravaganza with electric guitar quartet Dither and a big, impressive lineup that also features a duo set of composer Andrea Parkins with Yeah Yeah Yeahs drummer Brian Chase, noise metal band Cleric, turntablist DJ Rupture percussion trio Tigue, banjoist Brandon Seabrook and still more. Full lineup below.

Then on September 27 at Union Pool, Lee Ranaldo and The Dust will play a full-band show, their only one scheduled at the moment. The Dust have a new acoustic LP planned, so maybe we'll hear some of that at the show. Most details on that LP are still TBA. Tickets for the show are on sale now. Lee also has previously discussed duo set with Noveller at Lincoln Center on November 20. Noveller also opens for Sun Araw at Baby's tonight (9/4). All of Lee's various dates are listed below.

In related news, back when Sonic Youth were still active they recorded the instrumental song "Creepers & Climbers" for artist Peter Coffin's Music for Plants project. As the title implies, the music was written specifically to be "heard" by plants, but it was recently made available to humans as well. You can stream it below.

In more Sonic Youth news, Art Info points out that Kim Gordon will have a show at Chelsea's 303 Gallery from June 4 to July 15, 2015. More details TBA.

And as previously discussed, Thurston Moore (whose new band also includes Sonic Youth/The Dust drummer Steve Shelley) has a new album and tour on the way. He also has some pretty serious opinions on black metal.

All Lee Ranaldo dates are listed, with the 'Dither Extravaganza' lineup, below...

Drone guitar master Noveller (aka Sarah Lipstate) recently wrapped a tour opening for St. Vincent, during which she kept a video diary. It's 40 videos and just over an hour and a half long. You can watch the whole thing below.

Noveller has other live appearances coming up, mostly in her hometown of NYC. She'll open the second of two Sun Araw shows happening at Baby's All Right on September 3 & 4. Night 1 will be opened by Man Forever and Hiro Kone, and night 2 also has Psychic Reality on the bill. Tickets for both shows are still available.

She also has two duo sets with J.G. Thirlwell (Foetus) coming up, one of which we previously mentioned, the David Lynch Foundation benefit happening at Saint Vitus on October 4 (tickets). The other happens two days earlier at Joe's Pub (10/2). Tickets for that one are on sale now.

Sarah will also play a duo set with Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo in the Amphitheater space at Lincoln Center on November 20, along with a screening of Sarah's filmwork.

All dates are listed, with the video diary from the STV tour, below...

Americana powerpop band End of Love existed in the early '00s in NYC. Original members Jay Deegan, Jennifer Groves, and Irwin Menken reformed the band with a couple additions you may recognize: Wilco's Nels Cline on guitar and Big Star's Jody Stephens on drums. The band's forthcoming new album, Ghosts on the Radio, was recorded in Memphis' Ardent Studios and also features appearances from Wilco's John Striatt from Lee Ranaldo (Menken spent time in Lee's band who has opened for Wilco whose members have also played with Jody in Golden Smog). You can stream "100 Years" from it below.

The new lineup of End of Love will be making their live debut in NYC on July 17 at The Bowery Electric with The Tall Pines, Margo Valiante and Chris Lind on the bill as well. Tickets are on sale now.

That Bowery Electric show is one of a few coming for NYC duo The Tall Pines whose new EP, Black Ribbon, is out next week (6/24). They play a show as part of the Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival on August 19 with Sweetback Sisters, and other places listed below..

Lee Ranaldo and the Dust were supposed to play Union Pool this past February, but that show was cancelled day of. The band has now rescheduled the show to take place on April 24 at Union Pool, and support comes from Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Their other announced dates are all in Europe. Full tour schedule below...

Despite the snow dumped on us last night, there haven't been too many weather-related cancellations, show-wise tonight (2/13). Perhaps bands and venues thought if third graders have to go to school we can play a show. Still, there are a few and here are what cancellations and postponements we're found:

Unrelated to the snow, Lee Ranaldo and the Dust dropped off tonight's Union Pool show, but Steve Gunn, Garrett Devoe and Mike Wexler are still playing.

Fort Lean are no longer playing Baby's All Right tonight, but the early and late shows have been combined into "one blizzard of good times" with Sacco, Tropic of Pisces, Genghis Hans, and American Royalty. Doors are at 9:30 PM.

Tonight's AWKWAFINA show at Pianos has been moved to Wednesday February 26due to "5 foot deep slush puddles on every corner."

UK act Deaf Havana's early show at Mercury Lounge with Born Cages has been canceled, but the late show with Timbre Timbre is still on.

UK band Peggy Sue would like you to know that despite there being "literally more snow than we've ever seen in our lives but our show at @glasslands is ON. I repeat OUR SHOW TONIGHT IS ON."

You can browse our full NYC show calendar for all of tonight's shows, but here are some highlights...

Lee Ranaldo and the Dust dropped off tonight's Union Pool show, but Steve Gunn, Garrett Devoe and Mike Wexler are still playing. Depending on what Mother Nature has in store for us, we may see more cancellations. We'll do our best to keep you updated.

Kele Okereke (of Bloc Party) DJ set, JDH @ Cameo Gallery
Bloc Party is taking a short break at the moment, but frontman Kele Okereke is staying very active, having released solo material, collaborated with other artists, and now he's over in the US, where he'll DJ at Cameo tonight.

Timber Timbre, Lowell @ Mercury Lounge
Timber Timbre make great (if a bit underrated) noir folk ballads, and from the sound of their new single, "Hot Dreams," the new record may work in some '80s-style romance too.

Eagulls @ Baby's All Right (Midnight)
Moved from Rough Trade, this show now happens at Baby's at midnight with no openers. Eagulls' upcoming self-titled LP is chock-full of driving post-punk, and the band look the part live too, with singer George Mitchell bringing the attitude and facial expressions you'd expect from the way he spits his words on record.

Hospitality, Face the Music @ Ecstatic Music Festival
Hospitality just released their great second album, Trouble, and kick off their tour supporting it tonight with this show, part of the Ecstatic Music Festival. Like all EMF shows, there's a collaborative element to it and Hospitality play with teen ensemble Face the Music.

Broken Bells @ Baby's All Right (6 PM)
Broken Bells, the collaborative project between Shins singer James Mercer and production wizard Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz, etc), are about to release their sophomore album After the Disco, and are playing this intimate Tumblr-sponsored show ahead of its release. Like their last record, it sounds pretty much what you'd expect from members of The Shins and Gnarls Barkley, but they get a bit funkier this time around. The band will be back for a bigger (and also sold out) show at Webster Hall in March.

Coliseum, Primitive Weapons, Tidal Arms @ Saint Vitus
Coliseum fall somewhere between the melodic sludge of Baroness and Torche and the punky post-hardcore of Hot Water Music, and they rip as hard as you'd want a band like that to. Two solid local openers on this bill, so get there on time.

The Black Keys @ Roseland Ballroom
Another of the Super Bowl weekend shows comes from blues-rock lovin' duo The Black Keys. This is also one of the final shows at Roseland Ballroom.

Lauryn Hill @ Capitol Theatre
Neo-soul great Lauryn Hill may have had a bit of trouble with her comeback shows, having to reschedule many of them, but her trip to Port Chester for this Capitol Theatre show is finally back on. Let's hope it's a good one.

Mahogany, Lazyeyes, Shy Boys @ Glasslands
While this is a strong bill overall with quality local bands Mahogany and Lazyeyes, do get their early for Kansas City, MO indiepop band Shy Boys who and jangle with the best of them.

Har Mar Superstar @ Knitting Factory
Entertaining goofball Har Mar Superstar can turn any place into a sweaty party, given his ability to mimic '80s R&B and funk... he can breakdance too. This is part of Har Mar's ongoing Free Fridays series. Doors at midnight.

Thurston Moore recently listed his favorite songs of all time and now his Sonic Youth bandmate Lee Ranaldo has offered a list of his five favorite guitarists of all time via Red Bull (who recently offered their own favorite guitarists list). It's a cool list, some choices more predictable than others, and you can check out the whole thing below.

Lee and his band The Dust (which includes SY drummer Steve Shelley) will play their next hometown show on February 13 at Union Pool with Steve Gunn. Tickets for the show are still available.

Lee Ranaldo and the Dust (whose lineup includes two Sonic Youth members) recently played NYC when their tour hit The Bell House (1/11) over the weekend. There's just a few dates left on their itinerary, but the band have already announced another hometown show happening on February 13 at Union Pool. The show will be opened by Steve Gunn of Kurt Vile's live band, who also opened their Bell House show. Tickets for the Union Pool show are on sale now.

Of the many musicians that have commented on the unfortunate passing of Lou Reed, we haven't gotten one (yet?) from Sonic Youth, the legendary experimental New York band who owe much of their career to Lou's legendary experimental New York band. Though two of the members did tweet sentiments (above), and the band tweeted a link to a Dangerous Minds post featuring Sonic Youth "in the weirdest Lou Reed 'tribute' you'll ever see." The post features a short film from 1987 starring Sonic Youth called Lou Believers. As Ron Kretsch at Dangerous Minds puts it:

In 1987, filmmaker David Markey, best known for Desperate Teenage Lovedolls, Lovedolls Superstar, and 1991: The Year Punk Broke, made a short film called Lou Believers, featuring "Lou Reed" (actually Joe Cole with a copy of the Lou Reed cover of BAM stuck to his face) running around Los Angeles with Thurston Moore, accosting and terrorizing random strangers in efforts to score heroin and see the James Woods film The Boost. Kim Gordon appears as well. It's goofy, hammy, less than unscripted, several miles past utterly fucking stupid, and often really, really funny.

In related news, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore is playing The Stone on New Year's Eve with John Zorn, who also paid tribute to Lou. Thurston's band Chelsea Light Moving are also releasing a tour-only split cassette with their tourmates Merchandise. The cassette features a new song from each band, and Merchandise's is their first recording with new drummer Elser Nino. The tour begins this Tuesday (10/29), and all dates are listed below.

Elser Nino also drums in hardcore band Shoxx, who are about to play their last-ever show on November 8 at Fitness (1196 Myrtle Ave) with Gag, Goosebumps, Pleasure Industry, and Ivy.

Lee Ranaldo is pretty good at guitar. The 30-year vet of Sonic Youth (and other projects) is now finally going to put those skills to real work, teaching YOU how to play. On October 28, Ranaldo will host a Guitar Clinic at Other Music with a discussion and demonstration of his weapon of choice. Everyone who attends will also get a signed poster. Hopefully it's like the one above, which more than winks in Dan Smith's direction. The learning commences at 8 PM that evening and is free.

Lee Ranaldo & The Dust's new album, Last Night on Earth, was released this week via Matador and you can stream the whole thing below. A few days before the guitar clinic, you can catch him and the band opening for Kurt Vile at Terminal 5 on October 25 (tickets). They'll also headline The Bell House on January 11 (tickets).

The new EP features two new songs, "Feel My Pain" and "The Ghost of Freddie Roach," in addition to new versions of some of the Pretty Daze tracks. Check out the full tracklist and the album artwork for the EP and the deluxe album (both designed by Steve Powers [ESPO]) below. Also below is a stream of a mixtape Kurt made of songs that influenced the record called "KV Mixtape." A letter he wrote about the tape begins:

here is a "mix-tape" that i had been sort-of-conceiving for some time before i actually made it. i would say i made it mainly to pump myself up. and then my bandmates, extended bandmates, producer, etc... but also to get all my friends that were involved (at least subliminally) on my wave-length when i needed it most...

Deluxe Daze isn't the only thing Kurt is getting on shelves before the year comes to a close. He also recently announced that he'd be releasing a collaborative EP with Sore Eros (aka Robert Robinson, who was once in Kurt's band, The Violators). That EP is called Jamaica Plain and it's due out on November 4 via Care in the Community Recordings. You can check out the artwork and tracklist below.

Kurt's been touring for months, and he'll return to NYC to headline a previously discussed show on October 25 at Terminal 5 with post-Sonic Youth band Lee Ranaldo & the Dust (who also have a new album on the way) and Beach Fossils. Tickets for the T5 show are still available, and we're also giving away a pair. Details on how to enter to win are below.

Udpdated tour dates are listed, along with the contest details, and info on those new releases, below...

Lee Ranaldo & The Dust (whose lineup includes fellow Sonic Youth bandmate Steve Shelley on drums) are touring in support of their new album this year. That tour was supposed to hit The Bell House on October 25, but has just been moved to January 11. Tickets for the Bell House show are still available.

Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and his band The Dust, who played one of the last-ever Maxwell's shows, recently announced their new album, and since we last spoke, more details on that album have been announced. It's called Last Night on Earth and it will be out on October 8 via Matador. Lee also just released the first single, "Lecce, Leaving," which should appeal to anyone who liked his last album, Between the Times and the Tides, or his poppier Sonic Youth offerings. You can stream that below, along with the tracklist, and that's the album artwork above.

Lee Ranaldo and the Dust will also be supporting the new album with a previously discussed tour, which, as mentioned, hits NYC on October 25 at The Bell House. Tickets for that show are still available.

One of the more polarizing bands, as far as indie rock fans are concerned, is the Grateful Dead. But despite all the hipsters who want to make sure no one thinks they're hippies, there's a big chunk of the indie community who actually likes this band, so it's pretty cool that The National have gathered members from a bunch of great indie bands -- Vampire Weekend, The War on Drugs, Bon Iver, The Walkmen, and Kurt Vile & the Violators -- to participate in a Grateful Dead tribute album, as Relix reports. (They announced it yesterday [8/1], aka Jerry Garcia's birthday.)

Like Dark was the Night, which The National's Dessner brothers also curated, this will benefit AIDS organization Red Hot. But unlike that one, which was a compilation, this one "will hone in on a few all-star ensembles assembled for the project as well as select featured guests." The Relix article continues:

The Dessners also cite Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan as big-name indie guitarists with an affinity for the Dead who'd fit on the album. In 2012, Aaron Dessner, The Walkmen's Walter Martin and the Devendorf brothers performed with Bob Weir at benefit show held at the Dead guitarist's TRI Studios. Vampire Weekend's Chris Tomson has also performed with Weir at TRI while The War on Drugs regularly cover "Touch of Grey." As they mention in the September issue of Relix, the Dessners riffed on "Eyes of the World" for eight hours during their first jam session with Bryan Devendorf in middle school."

"There are all kind of corners of the musical world that are deeply influenced by the Dead that one wouldn't expect," Bryce Dessner says. "Lee Ranaldo is a crazy Deadhead. So that was part of the idea but I think it is broader than that now. Jerry Garcia was a total cat."

Grateful Dead tribute band Dark Star Orchestrajust announced two Best Buy Theater shows (11/29-30). Tickets for those are on sale now.

Onetime Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart is taking his Mickey Hart Band to Port Chester's Capitol Theatre on September 21. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter is playing a few Northeast shows this year, including 9/26 at The Paramount (tickets), 10/5 at Capitol Theatre (tickets), and 10/10 at Town Hall (tickets). All dates are listed below.

The second to last show ever at legendary Hoboken rock club Maxwell's happened last night (7/30), headlined by Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and his current band, The Dust, whose lineup also includes Sonic Youth drummer/Maxwell's co-owner Steve Shelley. The night began with a set from Houndmouth (who had just played Newport Folk Festival), and direct support came from a "secret" band, Single Dynamite, which ended up including Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan and Quasi/Wild Flag's Janet Weiss. Pictures of last night's show (unfortunately none of Houndmouth) are in this post.

Maxwell's farewell block party just began (4 PM), and the final two shows tonight are an early one with The Individuals and Delicate Steve and a late one with The Bongos and "a" ( both sold out). And just a heads up that if you planned to use the Lincoln Tunnel to get to Maxwell's today, it was apparently closed due to a debris spill but just reopened, reports ABC News.

Lee Ranaldo & the Dust will be heading out on a full tour around the time of their new album that hits NYC on October 25 at The Bell House. Tickets for that show are still available.

Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth released his first rock-oriented solo album, Between the Times and the Tides in 2012, and did a ton of touring in support of it with his band (Alan Licht, Steve Shelly, and Tim Luntzel), that he's since renamed The Dust. Now, Lee Ranaldo and the Dust are set to release what will technically be their debut album ("reflecting its more band-oriented approach and sound") this fall. It's a double album due out in October, but no exact release date or album title have been announced yet.

As discussed, Lee Ranaldo and the Dust are set to play the second-to-last Maxwell's show ever on July 30 with Houndmouth (who play Newport Folk Festival first). That show has long sold out, but the band have now announced a full international tour, which they'll kick off this October. The tour begins in Hudson, NY and it brings the band back to NYC for a show on October 25 at The Bell House. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (7/26) at 10 AM.

Lee Ranaldo and the Dust (which appears to be the new name of the Lee Ranaldo Band, as the members -- Steve Shelley, Alan Licht, and Tim Luntzel -- are the same) will be kicking off an international tour soon, which includes dates in Europe and South America. Upon returning home, they'll play a NYC-area show on July 30 at Maxwell's, which will be one of the last shows to take place at the Hoboken venue. Support at the show comes from folk rockers Houndmouth. Tickets for the Maxwell's show are on sale now.

Lee's ex-Sonic Youth bandmate Kim Gordon plays Saint Vitus on Thursday (6/13) as one of half of the duo Body/Head with Bill Nace. That bill also includes Majical Cloudz, Foreplay, and "Special Guests." Tickets are still available.

The Lee Ranaldo Band, which features Lee along with his Sonic Youth bandmate Steve Shelley, Alan Licht, and Tim Luntzel, are about to head to Spain and Portgual for a short tour this month, and upon returning to NYC they'll play a hometown show at Union Pool on April 28. Admission for that show is $12 at the door and openers TBA. They've got some other dates coming up this year too, all of which are listed below.

Meanwhile, Lee and Steve's past Sonic Youth cohort Thurston Moore is on tour with his band, Chelsea Light Moving, and that tour hits NYC TONIGHT (4/5) at Bowery Ballroom with Prana-Bindu and Marco Fusinato. Tickets for tonight's show are still available.

Thurston also contributed to Joyful Noise's new "Cause & Effect" series, which pairs an influential solo musician with an artist they've influenced on a split 7" single. Thurston's 7" has a track by Talk Normal on the b-side. The series also includes Dinosaur Jr/Sebadoh's Lou Barlow paired with Dumb Numbers and The Jesus Lizard's David Yow paired with Child Bite. You can stream the Thurston Moore/Talk Normal 7" at Pitchfork and listen to the other two below.

Thurston Moore and ex-wife/Sonic Youth bandmate Kim Gordon (separately) are also set to play the Yoko Ono-curated Meltdown Festival in London which goes down from June 14-23 at the Southbank Centre. Other artists performing include Yoko Ono herself with the Plastic Ono Band, Patti Smith, Iggy and the Stooges, Siouxsie Sioux (her first show in five years), Reggie Watts, Deerhoof, Savages, Marianne Faithfull, Immortal Technique, Ryuichi Sakamoto with Alva Noto, Sean Lennon with Cibo Matto, Boy George and more TBA. More info at the festival's website.

Meanwhile, you can catch Kim Gordon in NYC at the recently expanded "Night of Improvised Round Robin Duets," which takes place during the Red Bull Music Academy NYC residency at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on May 1. Kim will be joined by Andrew Bird, Robert Glasper, Questlove, Andrew WK, James Chance, Julia Holter, Thundercat, and many more. Tickets for that show are still available.

All Lee Ranaldo dates are listed, along with the Joyful Noise 7" streams, below...

Throughout the 90s and the first half of the 2000s, Dinosaur Jr. was one of the last rock groups you would have expected to get the old band back together, go on tour, and record new music--not to mention new music that's every bit as good as anything the original lineup made in the 80s. When J Mascis unceremoniously kicked out Lou Barlow, his high school friend and longtime bandmate, in 1989, it seemed like a mercy killing of the original lineup, which had devolved into a psychodramatic mess, marred by lack of communication and irreconcilable personality difference between Mascis and Barlow. ("It makes me sick that I spent six or seven years putting my heart and soul into that band," Barlow told Cut zine in 1990. "They're sleazebag snob pigs like no one I have met in my entire life. J's always been an asshole.") Mascis and Murph, and then just Mascis, went on to record a string of major-label records throughout the 90s that, though inconsistent, contain some of Dinosaur Jr.'s best and most well-known songs.

When Mascis killed Dinosaur Jr. in 1997, it seemed inconceivable that, a decade later, Mascis, Barlow and Murph would reunite. Time heals all wounds, I guess. It's perhaps less surprising that the band would be able to ably reprise their sprawling, melodic, blitzkrieg guitar-rock sound. Three records in to the latter-day reign of Dinosaur Jr., the band sounds as good as they ever have.

On Saturday at Terminal 5, Dinosaur Jr. celebrated the 25th anniversary of the release of You're Living All Over Me, their second album and the one that made nonchalance cool, made the extended guitar solo cool (again), and wedded melodic tendencies with noise and feedback in a theretofore unheard of fashion in the indie rock underground. The band opened their set with "Thumb," from 1991's Green Mind, with Suzanne Thorp of Mercury Rev guesting on flute, before Mascis matter-of-factly announced that now they'd be playing You're Living All Over Me in full.

A sleepy-looking Lee Ranaldo came out to share vocals with J on "Little Fury Things." Guests, some announced ahead of time, would be a recurring theme throughout the night, but not until later. Dinosaur Jr. ripped through the songs on their best album as if it were 1987 all over again. "Sludgefeast" was a punishing onslaught of guitar and staccato, gunfire drums, with Mascis's high lonesome whine cutting through the gain and distortion. "Tarpit" set off joyous dancing, propelled by Barlow's chunky bass chords and a deafening roar from Mascis's Jazzmaster that threatened to draw blood from the ears.

Watching Barlow and Mascis play on stage, it's not hard to extrapolate the personality differences that created their rift. Barlow, with his black Rickenbacker slung low, literally bounces from one foot to the other when playing, the joy at doing just this very thing--playing to an audience--so evident. He smiles, he cracks jokes, he acts as if he's living through the music. Mascis, on the other hand, with his laconic, slowhands style and deadpan announcements ("All right. Thanks a lot. That was side one."), plays as if the music lives through him. He's the hermetic savant tuned in to a frequency no one else can hear.

Barlow brought out a ukulele for "Poledo," the "awkward end to the amazing record," in his words. The cavernous space of Terminal 5 made the strident desolation of the song even more acute.

The second half of the show is the stuff legendary bootlegs are made of. A succession of guests filed onstage to help Dinosaur Jr. play their songs, or to transform them into other bands entirely. The first was Frank Black, who sang and played guitar on "Almost Fare," from this year's I Bet On Sky. Next, the band plus Black covered one of Black's songs--"Tame," from The Pixies' Doolittle. Black roared the chorus, tossed a painting into the first rows of the crowd, and exited. Kurt Vile, whose band opened the show, and Al Cisneros from Sleep were next. Cisneros took over bass duties from Barlow for a couple of songs, including the doom metal glazer "Alone" from 1997's Hand It Over. Harvey Milk's Kyle Spence took the drums for that one.

Smiths and Modest Mouse guitarist Johnny Marr and Broken Social Scene guru Kevin Drew emerged to play "The Wagon" with J, Lou and Murph. Then they covered Smiths track "The Boy With the Thorn In His Side," the words to which J was, uh, a little unsure of. Melvins drummer Dale Crover relieved Murph behind the kit for a skin-searing rendition of "Training Ground," a song by Mascis and Barlow's pre-Dinosaur hardcore band, Deep Wound. Don Fleming of Gumball and Dante Ferrando of Iron Cross helped the band cover "Crucified," and Kim Gordon gave a tempestuous performance on "Don't", Barlow's song from Bug that directly addresses the fractured relationship between him and Mascis. Gordon screamed, bellowed and cooed the song's one lyric ("Why don't you like me?") over and over again, dropping to her knees and falling to the stage like she was having an exorcism. It was intense. If Sonic Youth is over, she should start a hardcore band.

The encore began with a cover of the Stooges classic, "T.V. Eye," with Tommy Stinson on bass and Fred Armisen (whose show, Portlandia, will feature an appearance from J Mascis in its upcoming third season) on drums. Dinosaur Jr. closed with two classics: "Start Choppin" and "Freak Scene," the song that invented the slacker generation. It was a poignant, circle-closing moment. "Because when I need a friend," J sang, "it's still you," we all responded. The night was an amazing tribute to a great band, 25 years removed from their (so-far) signature achievement and, improbably, still going strong.

More pictures, some videos, and the setlist from the show (which also counted John Petkovic of Death of Samantha as a guest), below...

UK music magazine Uncut put out their list of the top 75 albums of 2012. The top ten leans pretty heavy on long-running '60s/'70s survivors who put out new albums this year, but plenty of the list-topping regulars from newer acts are on there too, along with a few interesting surprises (Sun Araw, M Geddes Gengras & the Congos!). You can check out the full list below.

Jeff Mangum was one of the many notable artists to play the Occupy Wall Street-related show at Le Poisson Rouge last night (11/15), along with Lee Ranaldo (who took one of the pictures above), Guy Picciotto, Tunde Adebimpe, Kyp Malone Janeane Garofalo, Lizz Winstead, Max Silvestri, and others. The show was an Occupy Wall Street benefit to raise money for Strike Debt. If you weren't at the show, did you stream it live? You can check out a video of Jeff Mangum and Guy Picciotto (of Fugazi) playing Tall Dwarfs track, "Sign the Dotted Line," below. That's a picture of Jeff and Guy from the show above.

As mentioned, Jeff Mangum is going on a tour in 2013 which comes close to NYC on three separate occasions. Tickets for his show in Poughkeepsie go on sale today at 11 AM. Tickets for his Hartford, CT show are on sale now. The tour also hits Hamilton College Chapel in Clinton, NY on 2/14, but ticket info for that show has not been posted.